Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin is expected to resign on Friday, three sources told Reuters on Thursday, days after ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina announced plans to return from exile and surrender to authorities.
The reported resignation comes amid mounting political pressure on the government of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to remove the remaining allies of Hasina from senior state positions.
In November, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina to death in absentia, finding her guilty of ordering a crackdown on the 2024 student-led uprising, during which nearly 1,400 people were killed. Hasina, who has been living in exile in India, has denied the charges.
News of her planned return has intensified calls for a complete political break from her former administration.
Shahabuddin, 76, was elected unopposed to a five-year term in 2023 as the nominee of Hasina’s Awami League, a party that has since been banned.
Although the Bangladeshi president serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the office is largely ceremonial, with executive authority resting with the prime minister and cabinet.
Shahabuddin assumed greater prominence during the political turmoil of 2024, when the nationwide uprising forced Hasina to flee to New Delhi, bringing an end to her long tenure in office.